How to Check an ISO/IEC 17025 Lab’s Accreditation Scope
Use the accreditation body’s directory and scope to check the facility, test method, matrix and date. Follow a dated example from INAB.
Find the lab in its accreditation body’s directory and open the scope for the facility that performed the test. Compare the report’s method, material or matrix, location and test date with the scope. For a flexible scope, request the lab’s applicable list of accredited activities.
Find the directory entry for the testing facility
Record the laboratory’s legal name, physical testing location, accreditation number and accreditation body. Search the accreditation body’s own directory. If you need to identify the accreditation body or check international recognition, Global ACI lists signatories to its Multilateral Recognition Arrangement and the activities for which they are recognized. Global ACI assumed the former international roles of ILAC and IAF on January 1, 2026. Its FAQ explains that some documents can carry legacy marks during the transition. Use the current directory and scope for the status check.
Confirm the location on the report against the directory listing. A laboratory organization may operate several facilities. Save the relevant scope or schedule, revision and date checked. If you are reviewing a historical result and the scope changed since the test, ask the accrediting body or laboratory for the scope applicable at the time.
Global ACI, Accreditation and verifying accredited reports · Global ACI, Recognised accreditation bodies and signatory search
Compare each reported test with its scope
Read the listed technique, test, material or matrix, and any limits that define the accredited activity. A scope listing HPLC for organic acids in water describes that activity and matrix. An HPLC assay of a lyophilized peptide requires its own applicable entry. Search for the relevant entry or ask the laboratory which scope item applies to the specific test. For a flexible scope, the lab may maintain a detailed list of activities that is separate from the published schedule. European co-operation for Accreditation document EA-2/15 describes that list for flexible scopes in its system. Ask the lab to identify the entry and the date from which the activity was covered.
A report can contain several methods or results from subcontractors. If scope matters to your decision, check each relevant result and the site that performed it. Ask the issuer to identify which lines it reports under accreditation if the report wording is ambiguous.
Global ACI, Accreditation and verifying accredited reports · European co-operation for Accreditation, EA-2/15 M, Flexible Scopes, 2023 revision
Record competence and sample provenance
Imagine a fictional lab report naming facility North and methods H-12 and M-09. The schedule for facility North covers H-12 for the stated material. M-09 is absent from the schedule and the laboratory has yet to confirm an applicable flexible-scope entry. Record H-12 as verified for the stated facility, material and date if those fields match. Record M-09 as scope unconfirmed. If a subcontractor performed M-09, request its name, site and applicable scope.
A directory entry describes accredited activities. The study’s sampling and submission records establish who chose the specimen and which shipment or lot it represents. Keep both with the procurement decision, including who commissioned the work where relevant. A useful review note names the scope document and revision, the report row checked, the facility and test date, and the unresolved questions.
Read a dated scope and work two cases
Start with the Global ACI signatory list, then open the responsible accreditation body’s directory. Look up the laboratory’s entry and download the schedule for the site that performed the work.
| Field | Published entry | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Legal entity and physical site | Water Testing Services, trading as The Water Lab. Head Office, Unit C3, M4 Business Park, Celbridge, Kildare. | Match the address on the report to the accredited facility on pages 1–2. |
| Test, method and matrix | Chemical testing, pH measurement in potable and domestic waters, 4–10 pH units, SOP-LTM-004 with Standard Methods section 4500-H+. | Read the row on page 7 with its continuation on page 8. Match method, matrix and applicable range. |
| Dates and status | Award date 8 December 2015. Schedule edition 14 is dated 22 April 2026. The schedule’s first page gives no expiry date. | Check the current directory and certificate for status and ask the accreditation body which edition applied on the test date if historical coverage is material. |
Open the original INAB schedule (PDF) to follow the rows. It illustrates how to read a scope for water testing.
| Case and reported activity | Location, matrix and dates | Scope finding and next action |
|---|---|---|
| A · HPLC-UV H-12, organic acid concentration | Lab headquarters and test site North. Drinking water at the covered concentration. Test 2026-08-12. The fictional directory and schedule confirm coverage from 2026-06-01 to 2027-05-31. | Scope match for this facility, method, matrix, range and test date. Retain the schedule version and the checked row. |
| B · HPLC-UV H-12, peptide amount | Headquarters North. The report names site South and lyophilized peptide. Test 2026-08-12. The same schedule lists drinking water at North. | Scope unconfirmed. Request the South site schedule and any applicable flexible-scope entry in force on the test date. If subcontracted, request the performing laboratory and its evidence. |
For an INAB flexible scope, use INAB PS11 to understand its permitted parameters. Obtain the laboratory’s controlled list and confirm the specific activity and its effective date with the lab or accreditor.
INAB, Directory of Testing Laboratories · INAB, Water Testing Services schedule, registration 339T, edition 14 · INAB, PS11 Flexible scope for ISO 17025 and ISO 15189 testing laboratories
Sources & further reading
- Global ACI, Accreditation and verifying accredited reports
- Global ACI, Recognised accreditation bodies and signatory search
- European co-operation for Accreditation, EA-2/15 M, Flexible Scopes, 2023 revision
- INAB, Directory of Testing Laboratories
- INAB, Water Testing Services schedule, registration 339T, edition 14
- INAB, PS11 Flexible scope for ISO 17025 and ISO 15189 testing laboratories